REVALUATION OF GOLD

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27782, 6 October 1955, Page 6

REVALUATION OF GOLD

Proposal Favoured By British M.P. U.S. FEARS OF EFFECT ON RUSSIA (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, October 4. A revaluation of gold to about twice its present price would mean an infusion into the world’s bloodstream, said Mr R. R. Stokes. Labour Member of Parliament for Ipswich, discounting at a press conference today fears held by Americans of the effect of such action on Russia. He said that the world's currencies were suffering from pernicious anaemia through being held, through the American dollar, to an artificially low value.

Many gold mines in South Africa would not be mining gold at its present price unless they had found uranium, he said. The gold price was the same as in 1933, and the cost of its production had gone up two or three times. It should be revalued from thirty-five dollars a fine ounce to about seventy dollars. “The reason the Americans won’t agree is that by increasing the value of gold they would increase Russia’s purchasing power, and therefore its ability to aggress,” said Mr Stokes. “But this is a false conception, because if they fear by increasing gold’s value that Russia will then be able to purchase all she wants to wage a world war, the answer is we can stop that by controls in refusing to sell to Russia war materials or ! machinery.”

Mr Stokes said that if the people really wanted peace, one of the prime objects should be to raise the Russian standard of living. If improving the value of gold would do so, then the Americans should recognise the vast effect that such a move would bring about. Mr Stokes said that, on production figures, doubling the value of gold would put an additional 700,000,000 dollars a year into the world’s money supply without depriving Americans of anything.